Common types of kidney cancer include renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC) of the renal pelvis. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC, also known as hypernephroma) is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, the very small tubes in the kidney that filter the blood and remove waste products. RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, responsible for approximately 80% of cases. It is also known to be the most lethal of all the genitourinary tumors.
In addition to renal cell carcinoma and renal pelvis carcinoma, other less common types of kidney cancer include: squamous cell carcinoma, juxtaglomerular cell tumor (reninoma), angiomyolipoma, renal oncocytoma, bellini duct carcinoma, clear-cell sarcoma of the kidney, mesoblastic nephroma, Wilms' tumor (usually reported in children under the age of 5), mixed epithelial stromal tumor. In addition, other types of cancer and potentially cancerous tumors that more usually originate elsewhere can also originate in the kidneys, such as clear cell adenocarcinoma, transitional cell carcinoma, inverted papilloma, renal lymphoma, teratoma, carcinosarcoma, carcinoid tumor of the renal pelvis. Further, cancer in the kidney may also be secondary, the result of metastasis from a primary cancer elsewhere in the body.
Inflammation of the kidney further includes nephritis, lupus nephritis, and pyelonephritis. The two most common causes of nephritis are infection or an auto-immune process. For example, nephritis has the effect of damaging and closing up the microscopic filters in the kidney. This means that in addition to various toxic waste products, the inflamed kidney filters out important proteins (larger molecules) from the blood. Therefore the characteristic symptom of nephritis is proteinuria; the excessive removal of protein from the blood and its excretion in urine.
Initial treatment of kidney cancer (especially RCC) is most commonly a radical or partial nephrectomy (surgical removal of a kidney), which remains the chief method of curative treatment. Where the tumor is confined to the renal parenchyma, the 5-year survival rate is 60-70%. However, this rate is lowered considerably where metastases have occurred. RCC is resistant to radiation therapy and chemotherapy, although some cases respond to immunotherapy. Targeted cancer therapies such as sunitinib, temsirolimus, bevacizumab, interferon-alpha, and possibly sorafenib have improved the outlook for RCC (progression-free survival), although they have not yet demonstrated improved survival. See, for example, Rini et al., 2008, “Renal cell carcinoma,” Curr Opin Oncol 20 (3): 300-306.
What is needed are methods, systems, and compositions of treating kidney cancers and kidney-related inflammatory disorders in lieu of a complete or partial surgical removal of the vital organ.